


Control ALT Delete

by JaeAlexander



Series: The Alternate Chronicles [1]
Category: 2PM (Band), Alternate Universe - Fandom, Busker Busker (Band), CROSS GENE, Day6 (Band), GOT7, NCT (Band), SMRookies, Super Junior-M, U-KISS, f(x), missA, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-09-03 16:30:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8720791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaeAlexander/pseuds/JaeAlexander
Summary: This is an alternate reality with Idols and Original characters.





	1. RUN!

**Author's Note:**

> This is an alternate reality with Idols and Original characters.

" _RUN!_ "

The voice didn't have to tell me twice to book it. As soon as the explosion went off, everyone around me took off. Between the building shaking from the massive impact and the hissing sound of the flames, I couldn't think of anything but forward. My legs automatically went into a sprint as the hot air behind me sped forward. The screams were deafening as you could hear those who weren't fast enough to escape the fire.

I wasn't even paying attention when I slammed into a pillar which knocked me on my bottom. Because of the stampede of people, all I could do was quickly cover myself as I was kicked and stomped on. Before I knew it, I felt myself being lifted up onto someone's back and we were running once more.

The scent of his skin was of mechanics, sweat, and a slight hint of strawberries. It was definitely a familiar smell and I was no longer scared as we blazed through the crowd. I wasn't sure where we were going, all I know was it was forward.

It seemed like forever when I finally opened my eyes among the chaos. A smaller man with a bright smile was jogging gracefully next to us acting like he was having the time of his life as we barreled to safety. The corridor smelled of burnt flesh, tar, and gasoline. I knew it was a memory that would be embedded into my nostrils and wondered who didn't make it out in time.

The blaring alarm finally sounded as it seems the fire hit the system. Why had it not gone off earlier? Seems the engineers weren't doing their job properly which certainly going to be an issue at the next town meeting. Would there be a meeting? Would there be enough of us? My head was killing me from all trying to take everything in. Only thing I remember last was his bright smile and the heat burning my back before everything went dark.


	2. Precautions

"Are you awake?"

My head was pounding. I couldn't fully grasp where I was but I wasn't warm anymore. As the fog was lifting from my mind, I could tell I was laying on my stomach with my arms outstretched and it smelled of disinfectant.

"What." I said with a hoarse voice.

"Shhhh... you inhaled a lot of smoke so the doctor said your throat is going to be sore for a few days. We got you." Even draped in dark clothes, Chittaphon radiated when he smiled. It was something I had always taken a comfort in because he was the kind of friend to always find the silver lining and it gave you hope.

He caressed my head gently. Now that I was starting to come to, I slowly moved my head from one side to the next, taking in my surroundings. I was strapped to the table with restraints on my wrists. I wasn't quite sure why I was restricted so I turned my head back to Chittapon.

"Uh," was all I could get out and signaled my wrist as I tried to lift it.

"It's really a precaution. Your back is really bad and we needed to make sure you didn't shift in your sleep and mess up the treatment they are giving you." He explained and reached his hand out to my cheek. His fingers were cold to the touch. "You seem to be still running a fever. Let me get someone." He grabbed the cord above me and a soft ding was heard.

I didn't know if anyone else was around because we were covered by curtains but I could hear slight murmuring and the shuffle of feet. I assumed it was people but my hearing was still a bit muffled from the explosion.

The curtain shifted a little behind Chittapon and I saw him nod to whomever was behind me. In an instance, my arm felt like it was on fire and I let out a yell. Chittapon tried to soothe me as I moved my head as quickly as I could to look at my other arm and what was causing the new pain but I was too slow. The person who had entered was gone just as quickly and nothing was there. I couldn't help but let out a quiet sob before I involuntarily closed my mind and went to sleep with tears pooled in my eyes.


	3. Settle Down

I assumed I was only out for a few hours. I hadn't moved but Chittapon was no longer sitting beside me. I couldn't help but feel sad about this new development but it gave me a chance to try and to figure out what had happened with the explosion and how I got here. I still didn't really grasp why I was laying down with my arms out and unable to move but I was smart. I would figure this out, right?

My hearing was a bit better, so clearly I was recovering quickly. I could get a feeling of others were also in the area with me. Not many must have been injured because there was barely any s and groans coming from around me. I could pick up a couple whispering a few beds down from me, and I think I heard a child and there mom walk past my curtain.

I felt a cold breeze hit my back and send a painful shiver down my spine. It caused me to squeeze my eyes tightly and let out a hiss. I clearly was exposed but I could only see up to my shoulder covered in a medical gown. It was an ugly green colour. You know the kind that looked like mushed up old broccoli. I had asked for years on changing the colour, but clearly the counsel was not having it as it wasn't of utmost importance. Fashion is always a necessity according to my partner.

The gown clashed so badly with the smoke-stained curtains surrounding me. They weren't actually caused by smoke but you know when you go into a smoker's house and there is that ugly yellow hue? That is what surrounded each bed. To make it worse, they were made of this weird fabric that wasn't cloth, but wasn't plastic. Chittapon and I laughed about it a lot because the medical ward should be for comfort but we always thought that it felt kind of like a cold hell of bad taste.

My curtain moved and Chittapon stepped in. It's like he knew I was thinking of him.

"Ten." I thought I would have choked it out but it escaped my lips with much more ease than I anticipated. Trying my luck a little more, "Did you go for dinner while I napped? Is it any good?"

Ten was what we called Chittapon for short since he joined our fraction. It was much easier. I won't even mention how complicated his last name was, but at least not as bad as some of our other Thailand natives that had joined.

Ten looked at me for a moment with crazy eyes before he smiled and sat down on the chair next to the bed. He reached above my head bringing back a cup with a straw and a little stick that had a sponge attached to it. The sponge was what we used when patients weren't able to drink and needed to stay hydrated.

"Which one do you think you can handle?" He said as he crossed his legs. He was styled in his normal dark clothes. This time he wore a thick shirt that had mesh-like long sleeves that hugged his frame quite nicely. He wasn't a broad man, but he was fit. One of our fastest members in combat; his agility was known throughout the encampment and was looked upon from the new rookies. He paired it with these dark corduroy pants that also fit him to a tee and the standard issued military grade boots we all wore in our division. Somehow he made being a soldier look good.

"The straw. What aren't you telling me?" With each sentence I was finding my voice again. I am known for healing quickly, and that injection from earlier seemed to be helping. I must not have been as injured as Ten made it seem but why was I still tied down then?

"Straw it is!" He happily put the white and red-coloured straw into my cup and brought it up to my mouth. I sipped it carefully, never taking my eyes of him. When I had finished enjoying the refreshingly cold liquid, my eyes shifted to a glare.

"Ten. What are you not telling me?" I put more emphasis into my words this time. I was feeling better by the second as my mind started to go hyperactive with everything that was wrong. Was it him? Did something happen? I hadn't been able to sense him in the last couple hours but I assumed it was from the pain and I wasn't paying attention. Oh my! What time was it? In all the commotion and the unexpected explosion, we were on our way to call his cousin. She has got to be frantic. With our line of work, we always tried to reach out to her often so she knew we were all here and accounted for. She was like our mother, just much younger.

"Ten. What is the body count? Where is he? Have you heard from Emma? Did we lose any rookies? I know I have only been out a few hours but you are starting to make me panic if that much damage has been done in a few hours." I was trying to sit up. I really wanted to shake him.

"Jae. Settle down." He got up quickly and put his arms on my shoulders to hold me still. It was then that a cool wave washed over my body and put my mind at ease. "It hasn't been a few hours..."

"It's been a few weeks." He had entered the curtained area quietly but because of our bond, I sensed him before he even had to say anything. "You need to stop moving or we cannot finish healing you. The fire wasn't a normal explosion and your body isn't healing like it should have."

I was determined to see him. I needed to see his eyes. "Can you at least explain to me what happened. And what do you mean it's been a few weeks? It was literally a moment ago when I felt that shot of fire through my arm and I knocked out. I cannot have been out for a few weeks."

He walked around to me and squatted down. Looking me right in the eye, he didn't have to say a word. I saw everything that had happened since I had been out. The body count was over two hundred and they were still trying to locate everyone. We had lost over fifty rookies and another twenty were paralyzed without their abilities from the fire. Whatever that explosion was, it put particles in the air that affected many ALTs including myself. Thankfully he and Ten weren't affected and we still had many of our soldiers active and helping the other divisions. He had tried to close off some of the memories but I caught that it had been him who was treating me this whole time. Clearly Emma's teachings were paying off.

"Now you are almost healed, but it will be a couple more days. Can you stay still for a little longer? Jinyoung has a concoction prepared that has helped many ALTs get their abilities back to the beginning stages. With training, they should be back to normal soon." He stood back up and proceeded to go out of my line of sight.

It honestly didn't matter that I couldn't see him anymore. Whenever we got within a certain distance, we could sense each other. His cousin too. We had this bond that was fused years ago one during a major car accident when she was visiting us in Korea.

We were so excited to see her and she had come out to see the new wave of rookies graduate to their divisions. After dinner, we were driving down the road and I had seen something run into my lane. I might have panicked for a moment because I thought it was a small child and swerved to avoid hitting them. In the midst of it, I overcompensated and the car went barreling over the guardrail. Emma was screaming and I just remember trying to get the car under control as we flipped a few times before a tree stopped the vehicle.

Emma was ejected out of the car and landed on the hood. The moments following after are such a blur for all but I remember the three of us reaching for one another and then there was a warm ball of energy that passed through our bodies. Since then we have been able to sense one another and and pull memories from each other if we lock eye contact. Its come in handy for the job, but with Emma as a healer in America, we can't always feel her as much and she won't move to Korea yet for reasons unknown.

"Major General Seo Young Ho! Major Chittapon Leechaiyakul!" The Commander General had come in with determination and saluted causing Ten to stand at attention in front of me with a stiff salute back. "We need everyone armed and ready for our next plan of action. Young Ho, get Colonel Jaén Adlez back on his feet immediately. You have 2400 hours." As quickly as he came in, he left.

Ten sank in his chair. "Junior said that it would still take a few days for the medicine to bring him back to one hundred percent." He reached out to hold me hand.

Young Ho moved around as he finished putting something on my back. It felt like aloe after a sunburn but smelled of mint and lavender. "We will just have to give it to him early and hope for the best. Jaén is strong. I know he will be fine."

I laid there as they talked about me like I wasn't the person on the bed. "Hello. I exist here. I kind of want out of this contraption as soon as possible. Give me the meds and I will figure how to get my ability back to full speed. Johnny, go get Junior. Let's do this." I was determined to get back to normal after losing a few weeks.

Johnny turned to Ten, "You heard your Colonel. Go get Doctor Park so we can get him back on his feet."

Ten squeezed my hand and stood up with a smirk. He half-saluted us both and walked quickly out and went to go get the solution for me getting out the bed once and for all.


	4. The War Room

I really hated meetings like this. It had been four hours of catching up everyone who had been in the medical ward and I felt we hadn't gotten anywhere in terms of action. The "War Room", as we called it, was a dark concrete room about a quarter mile under our development with monitors and screens covering most of the walls. It really was your standard looking military-grade room that everyone saw in the movies, including the expensive holographic equipment that gets used in those sci-fi flicks. I might hate the meetings but it was a cool room.

There was about sixty lower ranking officers wrapped around the room. Our head boss, Commander General James Parcen, was seated at the table with ten upper-class officers including Ten, Johnny, and myself. In our division, there was an upper commander in charge of six lower commanders. This was how the chain of command worked and did not include the Privates that ranked as E-1 to E-3 that expanded out from us. Only way to move forward with a promotion is if an officer retired or died so, while it was rare, it was possible to be considered but many spent their career only reaching an E-3 ranking.

"We are still investigating the cause the explosion", the Commander General announced. "The issue we are having is that Head Investigators are looking the matter with Head of Development and are still unable to figure out a starting point. It seems like it was an inside job but did the person parish in the fire or is still at large? This is a huge dilemma as we aren't able to move forward if we do not have all the information. For now, we are on a strict military patrol. Each officer will take their unit and for shifts."

Brigadier General Bradley Ray Moore spoke up first, cutting the Commander General off. "How do we know it was a possible inside job?"

"The most information that was given to me from the investigation points to the possibility of it being an inside job because traces of chemicals were left behind at the starting point. After some review and analysis, Doctor Park Jinyoung confirmed that it was one of his concoctions that was in an experimental stage. The reason he isn't targeted as the culprit is because whoever used the mixture had no time to escape the flames so they would have perished within moments."

The Commander General shifted in his seat after his explanation. I had been in this division since I was sixteen years old, the Commander General had been best friends with my father who was the Commander General before him, so I was pretty familiar with his body language and something seemed really off with how moved.

My eyes became slits as I squinted at the man I grew up calling Jim. He was the kind of man who always played by the book but also stood behind what was right. I was always proud to call him my Uncle and he never gave anyone special treatment including me; a mannerism that earned him a lot of respect from his fellow officers.

But what was he hiding. He wasn't someone who acted without thought, and here he was shifting weirdly in his seat over information he was concealing. Before I could ponder this new development any longer, the meeting was adjourned and everyone was leaving to go on their assignments. Since I was still recovering, my job was to get a treatment and work on getting my ability back up to par. Doctor Park and I were also working on a way to expand my ability so I could possibly use it to heal others on the battlefield too. It was a slow process and one that brought us back to the beginning after the explosion.

Ten came up next to me and held my hand as we walked down the corridor towards the Department of Healing and Science.

"Jae-baeeeeee... whatcha doing?" I slowly looked over to the smaller framed man with half-cocked eyes as he was smiling at me and swinging our arms back and forth.

"Going to see Junior and them. Why? What do you want?" I was suspicious about his behaviour since he only called me "Jae-bae" when he required something from me.

"Johnny won't train with me and I want to try a new series of moves. Will you help me?" The look he gave me was pitiful. Like a puppy with big bright eyes, he was staring up at my face with our hands locked together and nestled under his chin.

I sighed. "Yes. I am feeling much better but it has to be this evening after my own training." He was a hard friend to say no to.

His smile broadened as he was excited by my answer. "Yes! It's a date!" With that he kissed my hand and darted off to his assignment. Before he got too far, he turned around and yelled back, "you are the best and don't let Johnny tell you otherwise." I laughed as he turned back around and disappeared down the corridor.

"Don't let Johnny tell you what?" He came up behind me in such a stealthy way, I jumped.

"I hate you. Seriously." I turned to him and punched him on the arm. "Why must you be so quiet when you walk."

"That's why I am a Major General and you are only a Colonel." He smirked as he took his stride next to me.

"Dude, seriously? Low blow." He always liked to pull rank because he could. He is lucky I didn't deck him for his snarky remarks.

"I mean... I could think of a low blow..."

"Major General Seo. Colonel Aldez." General Nichkhun Buck Horvejkul called out our names from behind. We quickly turned around and saluted.

"General Horvehkul!" We said in unison.

Khunnie looked like he would be a man of a hard caliber but he actually was quite soft. I thought his ability was the coolest one out of us all because he could actually blend into his surroundings. He was the only chameleon ALT I had come across in all my years. A lot of us had similar abilities but no one came close to what he had. He was transferred into our division about a decade back and had proven his ability to quickly assess a situation. No one questioned when he was given the General position without moving up slowly in ranks. He was beloved among everyone in the Sector.

"Do you think that kind of talk is appropriate in a work environment, Major General Seo?" He face was stern and we didn't drop our posture.

"Sir! No, Sir!"

"Good! No one wants to know what you both do in your spare time together. Get a room!" Khunnie laughed so hard as he watched the look of panic turn to realisation that he had totally fooled us into thinking we were in trouble.

Johnny was practically sweating. When it dawned on him that Khunnie was just messing with us, he dropped his salute and threatened to beat him. I couldn't help but laugh as well.

Johnny was always on edge when it came to his personal life. He had been shipped off to the Mongolian Ward when he was still a child to live with his grandparents and trained in the Seoul Sector. We pretty much grew up with one another as I was also training because of my militia background. It wasn't until he was a teenager that he was able to reach back out to family in North America and re-connect with Emma, his cousin through his mother's side. After they had come back together, they were inseparable, especially after his parents had passed away.

She had visited us a few times and I had taught her some healing methods I had learned from my mother. After our accident, things got pretty weird as we all now had that bond. Emma had an extra perk to hers. Because she can sense others emotions, if she harnessed her feelings, she could beacon out an almost distressed-like signal for Johnny and I. Thankfully, she has only had to do that once before.

I looked at my watch after everything calmed down and I know knew I wasn't in trouble. ". I am so late and I have such a tight schedule today. Johnny. Khun. I hate to leave you but I gotta bounce." I gestured down the hallway.

"Yeah. I got it. I need to go trainee the new round of rookies." Johnny reached out his hand to me. I grabbed it and rubbed my thumb across his skin three times as a signal to him. He returned the action with four across my skin and then released my hand. I turned to salute Khun, "Sir!"

"At ease. Have a good day, Jae."

"Thank you, Sir!" I relaxed my position and took off down the corridor to meet up with Junior for another healing session to get me back on track.


	5. The Tide Of Change

The sessions to get me back to one hundred percent have been a pain. From being in stuck in that bed for weeks, I already knew they hurt so much from the two treatments I got when I was conscious. The basic setup now was going to be me, strapped in a chair, with tubes and needles hooked up to my person while Doctor Park Jin-young injected me with an experimental concoction. We called him Junior because his dad was also called Park Jin-young and Head of Healing and Science.

Junior was pretty much a genius. Though not a well known ALT, his ability rested in his brain because he is able to figure out any equation thrown at him. He was practically working in the division since the age of eight as a shadow for the adult Healers when they needed help. He actually wanted to go into the Investigation Force but when your dad is the division head, you pretty much end up in the field with the rest of your family. So when he graduated from the rookie program early like I did, he went straight to work; he has created over a hundred different medicines and is currently working on an a way to enhance ALTs abilities.

I remember when I heard that it was Junior's mixture that was attached to the explosion. I was floored because the only reason for it was to deal with the occasional ALT issue when they used their abilities for unethical purposes. The Militia was the one who funded the project and it is used by us and the Investigation Force. But how did someone get their hands on it and how did they set up the bomb because there is no way they would survive it and everyone in the division was accounted for. They even called those who had traveled to other Wards on vacation or work to make sure no one was missing.

Thankfully, Junior is a genius and already had a hybrid created to bring ALT abilities back as well, so my injections consisted of that with a new mixture to enhance my abilities. Since I had a unique healing ability, they were hoping to see if I could expand it to be able to heal others. With years of training, I had developed myself to be able to at least heal a cut on someone else but nothing big. Can I tell you how many paper cuts I have had to heal? It made me realise how dangerous dead tree mush can really be.

Today marked my first session in the Healing Division. I was really hoping to see my best friend, Andy, but she was on vacation to see her parents in the North American Ward and no one knew when she was slotted to come back. Even though she was older, we were like to kindred spirits and totally completed one another. Everyone always thought we were dating, which made us laugh, but they were a lot closer to the truth than we would like to admit.

Adrienne Revelle was transferred to the Mongolian Ward because we had lost a chunk of the department due to an experiment gone wrong by a Healer. Needless to say, that person is no longer in a division. Since anyone who could take over had perished, Andy was brought in to train Doctor Park to become the person in charge. That was about eight years ago. I met her during that ordeal since the Militia was handling the case because it seemed like an act of terrorism. I was one of the few soldiers that spoke perfect English so I tended to be the go-to guy for her to bridge the language barrier. Because of that, we were pretty inseparable and she became my best friend. Johnny took a liking to her because of her connection to the North American Ward and she would always take things back to his cousin, Emma, when she would go back to visit.

Now she splits her time between here and there. It she hasn't been around but her parents confirmed she was with them so I will just wait until she comes back. At least she wasn't in the explosion. I would have been devastated if she was hurt or killed.

After my session, I had an important date with a very important woman in my life. Emma. I quickly pulled my phone out and sent her a text to have a video call in ten minutes. After that, I dashed to the gardens so I could have peace and quiet without anyone disturbing me. No one I knew usually came to the gardens because little kids were always around but because of the lockdown in the sector, no one under the age of eighteen was allowed out here.

I settled on a bench and dialed out. I was anxious to see her. She was the closest person to a little sister that I was able to get and I cherished her so much. As soon as she picked up, I squealed. It was very unbecoming of a grown man but I guess I was channeling my inner "Ten".

"EMMA!!!" I yelled out in excitement.

"OH MY GOD! JAE!! I HAVE MISSED YOU!!" She was just as excited as me. We matched our tones perfectly out of sheer adoration for one another. "How are you feeling? Are you okay? Is everyone okay? Is Johnny taking care of you? I need to know EVERYTHING!!"

Pulling myself together and trying to process all her questions at once, I responded as best as I could. "Woah! One at a time. First, I am feeling so much better. I am still processing that I lost weeks out my life but I feel much stronger. Second, Everyone is fine. We did lose a lot of ALTs and we are still doing a body count for those not accounted for but we are pulling together. There is a curfew for most of the citizens of the Sector. Victoria, I mean Mayor Sòng Qiàn, put it into effect while I was out. Ten and Johnny did take care of me while I was recovering, which I appreciate so much. I take care of myself now so I am good." I had to think if I had covered all her questions before moving on. "I think I got everything. I can't tell you all of it right now because it's classified but once I am allowed a little wiggle room, you know I will definitely let you know. Now what is going on with you?"

She went on to tell me everything that was going on with her since I had been so disconnected from the world for close to two months. It's crazy because as she was telling me what was going on, I could grab her memories since we were on a video call and making eye contact. As I watched everything unfold through her dark chocolate eyes, I got a little choked up from the overwhelming emotions felt during that time.

While I was trying not to let me feelings come to head, I felt an arm wrap around me gently.

"Oh my god! Johnny!" Emma was back to being excited as her cousin stepped into the frame.

"Emma." He was so calm as he said her name and bowed his head. He took his arm from around me and dropped to my thigh and rubbed his thumb back and forth on my right knee. I reached for his hand to hold it as I let his aura calm me. "It's good to see you. How have you been?"  
  
"What do you mean how have I been? Why have you not called me? Why do I have to wait from an email from Ten and a video call from Jae? Aren't we the ones related?" After that I had to tune her out as I got a sharp pain in my back. It took me by such a surprise that I squeezed Johnny's hand as Emma droned on. I really have no idea what was said next as I concentrated on the fire within my body spreading across my back and making my flesh tingle.

"Jae. Jae. Jae! Wake up!"

I had slowly come around to see Ten standing over me with a worried look on his face and Junior standing behind them with his dad. I had no idea what was going on but I could tell it was probably not good.

I tried to smile a little as I responded back with "hey, guys."

"Don't give me  _hey, guys_! You need to stop scaring me like this! I am too young to be his wrinkled with worry." Ten was in total mom mode. It was cute but I didn't have the strength to fight his emotions.

Jin-young stepped forward. "Jae, I need to know what happened. Can you tell me so I can pinpoint the issue."

Trying to remember what had happened, I slowly recalled the pain I felt. "All I really remember was a sharp pain in my back and then my flesh felt all tingly. I know I reached out for Major General Seo and then I heard Major Leechaiyakul screeching at me."  
  
Ten scoffed and crossed his arms. "I was not screeching", he said under his breath.

Jin-young look at him for a moment. He smiled and then turned his attention back to me. "I would like to check out your back, please. Major Leechaiyakul. Second Lieutenant Lau. If you please?"

Johnny stepped forward. "I will strip him of his top uniform. Give me a moment." He came towards me and, once again, I felt calm. He first took my finger-less gloves gently off my hands and laid them to the side. He reached in front to undo my harness and belt. The two were connected and wrapped around our bodies to carry our weapons which consisted of two Black OPS 14.45 Semi-Auto Pistols, a taser gun, and some ammunition along with basics like knives, a flashlight, and small accessories. He handed those items to Lieutenant Colonel Liu and moved on.

My upper uniform was various layers due to my level of expertise. We all wore the same black thick netting that was so tightly woven, it was like cloth chain-mail. Next layer was my degree of ranking. Since I was a Colonel, I was a dark purple; many could say it reminded them of Karate belts. Khunnie's was my favourite because his ranking gave him camouflage which was also the same as his ability. When he activated it, he really could disappear. This layer was a slight skin-tight long sleeve turtleneck to help work as a face-mask as well. The last layer of armour was the flesh-tone bulletproof vest that was so skin tight, it looked like it was your body.

After everything was stripped, Henry and Ten came over as Johnny stepped back. They helped me onto my stomach and there was an audible gasp.

I was pretty concerned since my back was now all scar tissue we had been trying to heal with the injections. "What? What happened?"

No one said a thing but Henry was definitely hiding something. I saw out of the corner of my eye a chunk of my flesh be put in a metal tin and taken away. "Seriously, guys. What is going on?" I was getting irritated.

As Jin-young's shadow washed over me, I felt a cold object on my back that made me shiver. "So not cool. That is really cold." I heard the heavy thud but couldn't see it. "Okay. This is the third time I have asked. What is going on?"

Doctor Park spoke this time. "It seems, Colonel, that your scar tissue is pealing away. Henry's hand seem to catch a part of your back and a piece came off but what we weren't anticipating was what was underneath."  
  
"Uh. Okay. Am I bleeding? Is it infected? I don't feel any pain so I don't know what the big deal is."

"The big deal is underneath the scar tissue is clean, untouched flesh. Your back is perfect once again. Doctor Park is removing the upper layer to see if it is all the same. So far, it is."  
  
My mind couldn't believe it. Back to normal? Did I seriously not have anymore scar tissue?

"I want to run some tests, but this might have been the breakthrough we needed to move on with enhancing ALT abilities." You could hear the undertone of excitement in his voice.

I tried it reach around and feel my back. What once felt like burnt chicken skin now was soft and strong. I was so happy. I lifted myself up my elbows, and looked around for Johnny. I caught Ten's gaze, he was smiling his normal toothy grin with his hands in a praying position and then signaled his head towards the direction of the person I was looking for.

"Could I get a moment alone to comprehend what just happened?" I asked those around me.

"Sure. It really is a lot after everything you have been through." Doctor Park turned to everyone and whisked them out of the area. Ten reached for my hand and stepped away, closing the curtains while he did so.

The fabric didn't even move as Johnny stepped into the enclosed space. I was getting up when I felt a pair of rough hands cup over my shoulders and soft lips kissed between my blades. I could feel him choke up as he released from my skin. I got up fully and turned to sit upright. I looked at him for a second and then we embraced as his hands wrapped around my back and I entwined my fingers through his outer netting.

It was then I finally cried. I had lost weeks of my life because of that explosion and he had never left my side. He hadn't left my side for years and I was grateful for it. As an ALT, some of our biggest worries is losing our abilities, and if it wasn't for Johnny, I could have perished into the fire. He was my commander, my best friend, and so much more. What we had, neither anticipated, but I know he was as grateful as I was. Even when he didn't show it as much.

We released our hold on one another and he helped me back into my layers of uniform. With the last piece in place, he rubbed his thumb across my damp check three times and then smiled. I reached out for his upper thigh and signaled back four times before smiling. As he took a step behind him. I got up and we both saluted one another before opening the curtain and exiting the area.

Now I had an even better reason to go about my day, but first, I promised to train with Ten and I was not breaking that vow.


End file.
